Reasons for Designation
Stone circles are prehistoric monuments comprising one or more circles of
upright or recumbent stones. The circle of stones may be surrounded by
earthwork features such as enclosing banks and ditches. Single upright stones
may be found within the circle or outside it and avenues of stones radiating
out from the circle occur at some sites. Burial cairns may also be found close
to and on occasion within the circle. Stone circles are found throughout
England although they are concentrated in western areas, with particular
clusters in upland areas such as Bodmin and Dartmoor in the south-west and the
Lake District and the rest of Cumbria in the north-west. This distribution may
be more a reflection of present survival rather than an original pattern.
Where excavated they have been found to date from the Late Neolithic to the
Middle Bronze Age (c.2400-1000 BC). It is clear that they were designed and
laid out carefully, frequently exhibiting very regularly spaced stones, the
heights of which also appear to have been of some importance. We do not fully
understand the uses for which these monuments were originally constructed but
it is clear that they had considerable ritual importance for the societies
that used them. In many instances excavation has indicated that they provided
a focus for burials and the rituals that accompanied interment of the dead.
Some circles appear to have had a calendrical function, helping mark the
passage of time and seasons, this being indicated by the careful alignment of
stones to mark important solar or lunar events such as sunrise or sunset at
midsummer or midwinter. At other sites the spacing of individual circles
throughout the landscape has led to a suggestion that each one provided some
form of tribal gathering point for a specific social group. Large regular
stone circles comprise an arrangement of between one and three rings of from
20 to 30 upright stones. The diameters of these circles range between 20 and
30 metres. They are presently known only in upland contexts, the majority
being located in Devon and Cornwall or Cumbria. Of the 250 or so stone circles
identified in England only 28 are examples of this type. As a rare monument
type which provides an important insight into prehistoric ritual activity all
surviving examples are worthy of preservation.
Details
The monument includes The Cockpit stone circle and seven clearance cairns
lying adjacent and north of it. It is located on Moor Divock on a slight rise
in the landscape, overlooking the Ullswater valley and close to a natural ford
crossing point of Elder Beck. It includes a circular kerbed stone bank 2.8m -
11.2m wide and up to 0.5m high which encloses an area approximately 27m in
diameter. There are 27 standing and recumbent stones set largely into the
internal face of this bank, thereby creating the stone circle. The tallest
standing stone measures about 0.95m high and some of the recumbent stones are
up to 1.9m in length. Within the eastern side of the stone circle, abutting
the internal edge of the stone bank, is a 5m square foundation of stones. This
is interpreted as an original element of the stone circle, although its exact
function is as yet unknown. Beyond the southern and western perimeter of the
stone circle there is an arc of five outlying stones each up to 1.5m high,
four of which are standing. To the north of the stone circle there is an arc
of four small clearance cairns - three of which are slightly oval-shaped and
one circular. To the north of these are a further three clearance cairns.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
Legacy System number:
22538
Legacy System:
RSM
Sources
Books and journals Other
Legal
This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
End of official list entry
